Highland Blessings
Highland Blessings
Highland Blessings is the story of a highland warrior who kidnaps the daughter of his greatest enemy and clan chief to honor a promise he made to his dying father. Bryce MacPhearson, a highland warrior, kidnaps Akira MacKenzie on her wedding day to honor a promise he made to his dying father. While Akira s strength in the Lord becomes a witness to Bryce, she struggles to overcome her anger and resentment when he forces her to wed him, hoping to end a half-century-old feud between their clans. While Akira begins to forgive, and Bryce learns to trust, a series of murders leaves a trail of unanswered questions, confusion, and a legacy of hate that once again rises between their families. Clearly, a traitor is in their midst. Now the one man Akira loves no longer trusts her, and her own life is in danger. Can Bryce look beyond his pain and seek the truth? Will Akira discover the threat against her before it s too late? How will God turn a simple promise into bountiful Highland blessings?
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(out of 21 reviews)
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Review by L. Wagner for Highland Blessings
Rating:
My Review:
When I first agreed to read Highland Blessings by Jennifer Hudson Taylor, I was a little apprehensive about the book because of the country setting and brogue issues. I am so glad I chose to read it! It was engaging the whole way through the book, and the whole storyline flowed naturally, particularly for the time era and country setting and clan rules, keeping me intrigued.
Akira had been jilted at the altar, kidnapped on her wedding day, and forced to wed another man from an opposing clan, one that had been feuding with her side of the family for a half-century.
Akira’s character was humble and yet strong and steady when necessary, dealing with all the emotions of the circumstances. She relied on the Lord to help her through each situation, and there were many intense moments from beginning to end! Bryce’s character was just as compelling, with his deep loyalty to promises he made and his tenderness amidst the tenacity and decisiveness needed for his clan position and enemy threats and murders.
Upon reading the book, I found some similar analogies of Akira to Esther and Joseph from the Old Testament, with testings and trials to bring out Akira and Bryce’s characters. The storyline will impress you! Jennifer is one fine writer! I highly recommend her book!
This book was provided free by Mark Yeh at Abingdon Press for my honest, personal review. I consider it a privilege to recommend good novels for your reading delight.
Review by Hinds24 for Highland Blessings
Rating:
My main problem with Highland Blessings is that is lacks depth. There is very little character development, certainly not enough to make the reader feel invested in the main characters until well into the novel. I was over halfway through the novel before enough was known about the characters for me to want to continue reading to find out what would happen in the end.
I felt as if I was reading a Reader’s Digest version of the story with all the details stripped from what could have been a great novel. The story jumps from one event to another without explanation: explanation of either the situation, the characters’ thoughts and feelings or why the story was jumping to the next event. For example (warning: slight spoiler): One of the main reasons that Akira trusted Bryce was because he did not force her to consummate their marriage, yet there is no discussion of when she finally decided to allow the consummation…they are kissing, they say they love each other,then at the end she is pregnant.
I also felt that the story was fairly predicable with a Romeo and Juliet storyline (without the death scene). The traitor in their midst was exactly who you were led to believe. So many hints are given, that there is no surprise when you find out who it is. There was no misdirection to make the reader think for a moment that it could have been anyone else. My only surprise was the lack of misdirection.
After making it two thirds of the way through the story, I finally was caught up enough in the story and characters to make me stay up late in order to finish the story. I just wish that there was more depth and detail in the storyline and characters; it so easily could have been a 4 or 5 star novel if a little more time would have been put into the development of the story. Jennifer Hudson Taylor has promise as an author, but needs to work on creating more depth to her characters and storyline.
Considering I got this as a free Kindle download, it was worth reading. If you are looking for substance in your reading, you may not want to purchase this novel…unless you are able to get a hold of a free copy.
Review by Linore Burkard for Highland Blessings
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[Originally posted on [...]]
The beautiful cover of this book opens to a great read I didn’t want you to miss.
Since this blog is called “She’s Got Character” I had to talk about Highland Blessings,, as the heroine, Akira, is a feisty female character you’ll love.
Here’s my brief review of the book:
Highland Blessings is a surprisingly adept first novel from Jennifer Hudson Taylor. The book serves up a truly likeable heroine, a satisfying romance, and all with a lush backdrop of castles, clans, plaids and a Scottish brogue to boot. A good supporting cast brings depth to the story, and I can recommend this book for a good dose of blessings, indeed. I look forward to seeing more from this new author.
There were a couple of plot points I stumbled over a bit, but the good far outweighs the bad in this medieval Scottish tale.
Click the title of this blog to learn more about the author, Jennifer Hudson Taylor, and congratulations to you, Jennifer, for a strong debut novel.
Review by Delia Latham for Highland Blessings
Rating:
Scotland 1473
Akira MacKenzie’s wedding day has turned into a nightmare. First, she shows up for the ceremony, but her bridegroom doesn’t bother. Then, even as she stands heartbroken by the abandonment, she’s kidnapped by Bryce MacPhearson, a highland warrior from an enemy clan. She’s hurt and angry, but her allegiance to a forgiving God dictates that she also forgive the man who took her from her family. But it isn’t an easy thing to do, especially when she’s forced into an unwanted marriage with her kidnapper.
Bryce MacPhearson is determined to honor a promise he made to his dying father. He has no intention of harming Akira, but neither has he any plan to set her free. She will be a MacPhearson bride. As his new wife’s life becomes a witness to him of her faith and an indomitable spirit, he finds himself falling in love with her and drawn to her God.
But when a series of murders points to Akira’s disloyalty, will Bryce trust her enough to protect her from a hidden threat? Can they find the murderer … before that murderer seeks revenge on the new MacPhearson bride?
A young lad’s promise. A bride’s broken dreams. A woman’s faith. Can God use them all to unite two feuding clans and bless two hurting Highland hearts?
Highland Blessings is an engaging look at Scottish history, with its customs and traditions–some familiar, others not-so-much. It offers a captivating storyline with a wonderfully three-dimensional cast of characters–some to love and some to…well, only to love because God would. The heroine is endearing, with an admirable show of pluck for a female during the century in question. This young woman’s courage and stamina at a time when women were expected to have neither is itself a Highland blessing!
Definitely well worth the read.
Review by O’Meara for Highland Blessings
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It’s an ok book and I like the way it’s written. The settings are also appealing. What I had trouble with was understanding what and who I was supposed to care about in the story that was going to justify the time I took to read it. Worse yet, by the end and after reading it, I still can’t answer that question.